DEBT FOR THE FUTURE: It ’ll take Nigeria 70 years to pay N6.6 trillion debt – Henry Boyo

Emotions ran high, Monday, as foremost Economist, Mr Henry Boyo, lamented the country’s huge debt profile estimated at N6.6 trillion, fearing that it might take about three generations to pay the debt.
Speaking at a roundtable dialogue to mark the first anniversary of Occupy Nigeria protest with the theme: “Nigeria’s fiscal and monetary crisis: The way forward,” in Lagos, Boyo said: “It will take the Federal Government a little over 70 years to be able to repay its official debt which presently stands at N6.6 trillion.”
Boyo, who disagreed with officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, over inflation rate, management of excess liquidity and other monetary policies affecting the economy, accused the CBN of not taking necessary steps to galvanise the economy.
He spoke as the apex bank countered that it was doing all within its power to regulate the economy.
Boyo listed high interest rates, depreciating naira, high rate of smuggling and capital flight, low capacity utilization, low employment and inadequate power as factors responsible for the dwindling state of the economy.
He said: “We have a total of N6.6 trillion as debt and you must know that they will be paid by our generations yet unborn. No economy can grow with these factors. All these factors I have mentioned are triggered by poor framework and responsible for the state of our economy. The CBN is also not doing anything to galvanise the economy.”
via Vanguard